1. Technical Field
A combination air sanitizer, soft surface deodorizer/sanitizer and hard surface disinfectant is disclosed which provides the novel combination of triethylene glycol as an air sanitizer and soft surface deodorizer and an alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium saccharinate as a soft surface sanitizer and hard surface disinfectant. A method for sanitizing air, sanitizing soft surfaces, treating odors in soft surfaces and disinfecting hard surfaces with a single formulation is also disclosed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Aerosol spray air sanitizers are known. However, the active ingredients in currently-available aerosol air sanitizers vary. One family of products relies upon glycols, the most popular of which is triethylene glycol, the active ingredient in the OUST® family of products sold by S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., the assignee of this application. Triethylene glycol (TEG) is known to kill certain airborne bacteria. TEG is also safe for use in aerosol sprays. Ethanol is typically used as co-solvent with water to increase volatility.
The use of sanitizing and disinfecting herein is consistent with Environmental Protection Agency Disinfectant Technical Science Section (DIS-TSS) nos. 01, 08, 11 and 13 (http://www.epa.gov/oppad001/sciencepolicy.htm). Briefly, for hard surfaces, the term “disinfecting” refers to a complete kill of all bacteria on a test surface while the term “sanitizing” refers to a less than complete kill of the bacteria on a test surface. Disinfecting is not associated with air treatment or soft surface treatment products; instead, the term sanitizing is used and the EPA separate requirements for air (DIS-TSS 11) and certain soft surfaces like carpeting (DIS-TSS 08).
Soft surface deodorizers are also known. The term “soft surfaces” herein will be used to refer to describe carpeting, upholstery and other fabrics that are porous as opposed to hard, non-porous surfaces like kitchen countertops. One family of soft surface deodorizers sold under the FEBREZE® trademark rely upon the use of ethanol in combination with cyclodextrins, a material derived from corn. In addition to being marketed for use as deodorizers for fabrics, upholstery and carpeting, these cyclodextrin products have also been marketed for use as air fresheners or deodorizers.
Instead of killing bacteria like TEG, cyclodextrins have a toroidal structure with a hydrophilic exterior and a hydrophobic interior. The hydrophobic interior gives cyclodextrins the unique ability to entrap malodorous compounds within the toroidal structure, thereby leaving the malodorous compounds undetectable by the human sense of smell.
Another approach to treating odors in soft surfaces utilizes water soluble/dispersible polymers as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,454,876. In contrast to cyclodextrins, which trap or cage the odor-causing molecule within the cyclodextrin toroid as discussed above, the water soluble/dispersible polymers of the '876 patent entraps the odor-causing molecule by forming a film that blankets the odor-causing molecule. The film is formed as the solvent or carrier evaporates. The residual polymer film provides a barrier to contain the odor-causing material in the soft surface thereby preventing its release to the ambient environment and detection by the consumer's sense of smell.
Both the cyclodextrin and film-forming polymer products leave a residue after the solvent or carrier evaporates. Further, neither cyclodextrins nor film-forming polymers have any anti-microbial properties.
Currently available disinfectant sprays are primarily directed toward sanitization or disinfection of hard (i.e., non-porous) surfaces. Alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium saccharinate in combination with ethanol is a popular family of compounds for disinfecting hard surfaces. Other known disinfectants include n-alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chlorides and n-alkyl dimethyl ethylbenzyl ammonium chlorides. These compounds are not intended to remove airborne bacteria or treat soft surface odors, but instead are intended to disinfect hard surfaces.
Other antimicrobials as set forth in Block, S., Disinfection, Sterilization and Preservation, Lea & Febiger (1983) include chlorine and chlorine compounds, iodine and iodine compounds, phenolic compounds, alcohols, hydrogen peroxide and other oxidant disinfectants, chlorhexidine, nitrogen compounds, surface-active agents such as quaternary ammonium compounds, acid-anionic compounds, amphoteric compounds, mercurials—inorganic and organic, silver and silver-containing compounds, heavy metals other than mercury and silver. In the class of quaternary ammonium salts, Block cites monoalkyltrimethyl ammonium salts, monoalkyldimethylbenzyl ammonium salts, dialkyldimethyl ammonium salts, and heteroaromatic ammonium salts. In addition, polysubstituted quaternary ammonium salts, bis-quaternary ammonium salts and polymeric quaternary ammonium salts are known to have disinfectant properties.
Therefore, the TEG-containing products are intended primarily to sanitize air and the disinfectant-containing products (e.g., alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium saccharinates) are intended primarily to disinfect hard surfaces. The cyclodextrin-containing products are intended to freshen air and treat odors in soft surfaces. The film forming products treat odors in soft surfaces only.
Currently, no single aerosol or pump spray formulation is intended to sanitize air, treat airborne odors, treat odors in soft surfaces, sanitize soft surfaces, and disinfect hard surfaces. While currently available products may be used for both purposes, their effectiveness is limited to a single purpose. Specifically, the glycol containing aerosol sprays are excellent at deodorizing and sanitizing air but cannot disinfect hard surfaces. The cyclodextrin containing sprays are effective by removing odors in soft surfaces such as upholstery, carpeting and clothing, but are not particularly useful for removing odors from air. Because cyclodextrins and film-forming polymers cage, entrap or blanket the malodorous compounds, they are typically not used with hard surface disinfectants as they are intended to remain in the soft surface indefinitely or until the surface is cleaned or washed. In contrast, the disinfectant-containing products are useful on hard surfaces but are not effective at sanitizing or removing odors from air or soft surfaces.
Further, consumers tend to confuse the purposes of the above-described products. Specifically, the consumer may believe that a disinfectant spray intended for hard surfaces is actually effective at removing odors from the air or sanitizing the air when it is not. The consumer may therefore use a disinfectant aerosol spray in the air with limited or adverse results. Further, a consumer may use an air sanitizer, such as one containing glycols, on hard surfaces and believe that he or she is actually disinfecting those surfaces when, in fact, the disinfectant properties of an air sanitizer are very limited. Thus, the use of an air sanitizer and air freshener on a hard surface, such as a food preparation surface, may leave the consumer with the impression that the food preparation surface has been sanitized, when it has not.
Therefore, a combination air sanitizer/soft surface deodorizer/soft surface sanitizer/hard surface disinfectant is not currently available and is needed. By combining multiple functions—air freshening/sanitizing with soft surface freshening/sanitizing with hard surface disinfecting, the consumer would be able to purchase one product for three important tasks thereby saving the consumer money and conserving home storage space.